什么是教育呢？小孩子要教他怎么样做人，教他什么是“孝、悌、忠、信、礼、义、廉、耻”，要“择善而从，不善而改；是道则进，非道则退。”这是亚洲的中国文化。西方文化就是迷信自由，误解自由，不负责任的自由，生而不教的自由，老而不养的自由。幼而不教，你说生这个小孩子干什么？教他在世界上做一些个不合法的事情，可以说是造罪。老而不养，人年纪老了，应该老有所终，壮有所用，幼有所长。

What is education? It means we should teach children how to be upright human beings, and instruct them about the eight virtues of filial reverence, fraternity, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, incorruptibility, and a sense of shame. They also need to learn how to “choose to follow what’s wholesome, and rectify what’s unwholesome; to proceed if it accords with the Way, and retreat if it does not.” The foregoing principles are parts of the Chinese culture in Asia. In the western culture, people have blind faith in freedom. They misconstrue their freedom to mean the freedom of being irresponsible, the freedom of having children without educating them properly, and the freedom of neglecting their elders. What is the point of having children if you were not going to educate them? Indeed, you would be committing an offense if you were to teach your children unlawful behavior. As for the elders, they should be taken care of. As it is said, “the elderly should be tended, the strong be employed, and the young be nurtured.” 　

人到老年，老病缠身，耳朵聋、眼也花，啊！牙齿也不帮忙了，这时候很可怜的。在中国的教育来说是养儿防老。防老也并不是一种自私心，要儿子来保护。只不过他把儿子教育成人了，这个青年人应该照顾这个血气衰退的老人。要不这样子，你说生这么多孩子干什么？结婚又干什么？这不是没意义嘛！所以啊！在这个国家，误解自由，让小孩自由发展。你看一千一万个自由发展的孩子，就有一千一万个发展坏了。好的，或者有一、二个，这些孩子生来有这种仁性，知道做好事。可是不是个个都懂仁性，都知道“择善而从，不善而改；是道则进，非道则退。”所谓小孩子“近朱者赤，近墨者黑。染于苍则苍，染于黄则黄。”那你怎么可以不注意他？

When a person gets old, he is very pitiful with failing eye sight and hearing, useless teeth, and all sorts of illnesses. From the perspective of education in China, raising children serves the purpose of preparing for one's old age. This is not based on selfishness on the part of the parents. Rather, it is because the parents have raised their children to adulthood, these young men and women should take care of their elderly parents, whose blood and energy have waned. Otherwise, what is the point of having so many children, what is the point of getting married? It would be meaningless! In this country, since people have misconstrued the meaning of freedom, they let their children grow up unchecked. As a consequence, you can see that if there were one thousand or ten thousand children who grow up without proper control, the same number of children would have gone bad. Maybe there are a few of them who have inherent humanity and kindness, and they will turn out wholesome and know how to help others. However, not everyone understands humanity and knows how to “choose to follow what’s wholesome, and rectify what’s unwholesome; to proceed if it accords with the Way, and retreat if it does not.” In describing children, there is a saying that, “Those who draw near to vermilion will turn red, those who associates with ink will turn black; something stained with gray will turn gray, something stained with yellow will become yellow.” Therefore, how can we not watch over and pay attention to our children?

为什么现在西方的小孩子很多是吸毒的？你看看！小学、中学生所接近的就是贩卖毒药的小贩，他劝这些学生说：“你吃这个药就聪明啦。吃这个毒药，你就会快乐啊！”他就吃毒药，他就快乐，真是越搞越愚痴！吃了，一天到晚在那“入定”。你看那吃毒药的人，一站可以站几个钟头，可是这不是他的定力，他被药毒控制得没有思想，这岂不是往死亡路上走？你叫他自由发展，发展到死亡的路上去，啊！这叫误解自由，不负责任的自由，没有理性的自由。

Why do many children in the West take drugs nowadays? Take a look! Elementary and secondary school students are drawn to drug dealers. They urge these students to take drugs, promising that, “These drugs will make you smart and happy!” After taking the drugs, these youngsters may feel happy, but actually they are getting more and more mixed-up! If you see people who are on drugs, it may seem that they are in samadhi all day long, because they can stand there and do nothing for hours. However, this is not samadhi; rather, these individuals have lost control of their minds under the influence of drugs. Aren't they walking toward the path of death? If you let children grow up with unchecked “freedom,” they would advance freely onto the path of death! This permissiveness is misinterpreted freedom, irresponsible freedom, and unreasonable freedom.

再告诉你们各位老年的朋友、中年的朋友、青年的小朋友，你们都要注意这一点。什么呢？现在全世界啊，教育都破产了，没有教育了。这个教育，教你什么呢？现在他们教性行为，这是大错而特错！性行为可以教，你应该教他怎么样子不乱交，不要乱搞关系，你应该教他洁身自爱、守身如玉，等他成长了之后再懂得性知识。不应该啊！五、六岁的小孩子一天到晚都看电视。电视这妖怪把小孩子都引诱坏了，引诱四、五岁小孩子就懂得接吻，也懂得互相搂抱。嗯，你说这是什么世界？这种自由真是可怜！可怜！太可怜了！

Let me once again tell all of you senior friends, middle-aged friends and young friends, you should pay attention to this point. What point? Nowadays, education all over the world has gone bankrupt to the point that there is no education at all! What does education teach you currently? It teaches you sexual conduct, and this is extremely wrong! Although sex education is o.k. in of itself, the focus should be on teaching students not to engage in improper sexual relationships. The students should be taught how to cherish themselves, and guard the purity of their bodies. Only until they are grown up, can these youngsters really understand sex. In addition, children who are only five or six years old should not be allowed to watch TV all day long. This T.V. monster has negative influence on these young children. For example, it has seduced these children into knowing how to kiss and hug each other. What kind of world is this? This type of freedom is really pitiful!

为什么说教育破产？你看看，小孩子你不教他做人的根本道理，现在的学校都鼓励什么呢？鼓励你读什么书赚钱最多。做医生赚钱最多就读医学，到月球去赚钱最多就读科学。喔，父母也不顾了，妻子也不管了，什么都不顾了！

Why do I say education in this world has gone bankrupt? Schools don't teach children the fundamental principles of being a human. What do they advocate instead? They encourage students to study whatever subjects that will help them to earn the most money. If being a doctor is the most profitable, then one goes to medical school; if going to the moon means having the highest salary, then one studies science. Focusing on making money, people end up neglecting their parents and spouse. In fact, they ignore everything but money!